(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements in anti-theft devices. More particularly, the invention is directed to a device for preventing unauthorized removal of portable equipment, such as micro-computers, video cassette recorders and the like, from their intended or customary position on a support.
Since the advent of micro-computers and video equipment in schools as teaching aids, there has been an increasing incidence of theft of such equipment. Micro-computer monitors, computer bases, keyboards and printers as well as video cassette recorders are very costly pieces of equipment to replace and it has become desirable to securely connect these to a desk or table supporting same.
(b) Description of Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 3,672,190 describes an anti-theft device for securely connecting a portable piece of equipment to a desk or the like, comprising a bar attachable by fasteners passing through the bar and through openings in the desk top, and into the base of the piece of equipment for holding the latter in firm engagement with the upper surface of the desk. Access to the attaching bar and fasteners is prevented by a trough-like shield member which encases both the attaching bar and fasteners and is provided with a key-operable lock for securing it in position.
While such an anti-theft device may be effective in preventing removal of a piece of equipment from its support, it necessitates drilling holes into the desk or other support for allowing passage of the fasteners, such as threaded bolts, which engage the base of the piece of equipment and by means of which the latter may be attached to the support via the attaching bar disposed on the bottom surface of the support. If the equipment requires relocation, the support is left damaged with holes. Moreover, not all pieces of equipment are provided with bases which may receive or are adapted to receive threaded bolts or the like for securing to a support.
In the equipment security device proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,392, the making of holes in a support surface is avoided by providing a flexible pad bondable by adhesive to the support surface, and a cover having depending lugs with holes adapted to register with corresponding loops protruding upward from the pad so that lock pins may be passed through the lugs and loops, from openings through the cover, to attach the cover to the pad. The equipment to be secured is bolted to the top of the cover from inside the cover before the latter is attached to the pad. Access to the bolts holding the equipment is prevented by the provision of key-operable locks which are inserted into the cover openings after the lock pins have been introduced so that the pins cannot be retracted until the locks are unlocked by a key. As in the case of U.S. Pat. No. 3,672,190, the necessity of having key-operable locks significantly adds to the cost of manufacture since the locks require different keys from one security device to another. Precise alignment between the loops on the pad and the lugs depending from the cover is also necessary for proper attachment of the cover to the pad. Moreover, since use is made of a flexible pad, such a security device necessarily needs a complete large flat surface for installation and thus cannot be supported on a frame. The security device of U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,392 also presents a significant obstruction between the piece of equipment and the support surface so that proper ventilation underneath the piece of equipment is inhibited.